LI teacher Tommy Sheehan will compete on new season of 'Survivor'

The latest Long Islander on "Survivor" is Tommy Sheehan, a 26-year-old teacher born and raised in Bayville and now living in Long Beach. CBS on Monday announced that the fourth-grade math and science instructor at Floral Park-Bellerose School in Floral Park will be among the 20 competitors on season 39, premiering Sept. 25.

"The secret is out and it's all about to get real," Sheehan, who attended Locust Valley High School followed by SUNY Cortland, posted on Instagram afterward. "I am stoked to let everyone know I will be on Survivor: Island of the Idols! When I was 7 years old, I told my parents that one day I will be on Survivor. Well 19 years later, I got my shot," he wrote, saying he was going to "live out my childhood dream. Hey look Ma, I made it!"

"My brotha is on survivor!!!" his sister, Caitlin Sheehan, wrote on Instagram later, and reassured that, "Yes, he wore sunblock … Yes, he will be home for my wedding and is still my man of honor."

In "Survivor: Island of the Idols," shot in Fiji beginning in March, a new twist this year brings back two former champions, "Boston" Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, who will serve the two tribes. "Each player, selected to visit the special island in various ways throughout the season, will have to decide if they should put their knowledge to the test for a chance at a possible advantage in the game, or risk losing something very important in the process," CBS said.

In his network biography, Tommy Sheehan said his parents were his inspiration, and noted that his father, Thomas B. Sheehan, "has always instilled the Sheehan motto in my head: 'Get it done.' There are no excuses, just get the job done, whatever it is. He is also the life of the party and lives each day like it is his last. My mom inspires me to care for others."

Sheehan announced on Instagram on May 1 that he had become engaged to pharmacist Nicole Badillo, who has lived in East Northport and Long Beach. In addition to his teaching job, Sheehan also serves as a Nassau County high-school varsity referee and as a lifeguard in Bayville, he told Newsday in an email.

The physically active Sheehan, who surfs, plays various sports and in 2017 bungee-jumped in Interlaken, Switzerland, posted on Instagram that same year from the Fiesta de San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain, which hosts the annual Running of the Bulls. "You won't BULLieve what we did this morning," he captioned a photo of himself and Badillo dressed in white festival garb, with the hashtags "#weSURVIVED #weACTUALLYdidIT #LifeVSdeath."